U.S. patent number 9,609,151 [Application Number 14/941,764] was granted by the patent office on 2017-03-28 for image forming apparatus that delivers image data displayed on digital signage devices and computer-readable non-transitory medium with image forming control program recorded thereon.
This patent grant is currently assigned to KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.. The grantee listed for this patent is KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.. Invention is credited to Yasuhiko Kida.
United States Patent |
9,609,151 |
Kida |
March 28, 2017 |
Image forming apparatus that delivers image data displayed on
digital signage devices and computer-readable non-transitory medium
with image forming control program recorded thereon
Abstract
An image forming apparatus includes an image reading section, a
storage section, a communication section, an acceptance section,
and an operation control section. The storage section has a
plurality of storage regions at least one or more of which are
signage-specific storage regions associated one-to-one with the one
or more digital signage devices. Each of the signage-specific
storage regions stores the image data generated by the image
reading section having read the original document. The operation
control section is further configured to, when the acceptance
section accepts the delivery instruction, allow the communication
section to send the image data stored in the signage-specific
storage region associated with the individual digital signage
device designated in the delivery instruction to the digital
signage device designated in the delivery instruction and allow the
storage section to store the delivery instruction as history
information in the associated signage-specific storage region.
Inventors: |
Kida; Yasuhiko (Osaka,
JP) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc. |
Osaka |
N/A |
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
(Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka, JP)
|
Family
ID: |
55962827 |
Appl.
No.: |
14/941,764 |
Filed: |
November 16, 2015 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20160142565 A1 |
May 19, 2016 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
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Nov 17, 2014 [JP] |
|
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2014-232834 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N
1/00307 (20130101); H04N 1/00938 (20130101); H04N
1/0097 (20130101); H04N 2201/0094 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06K
15/02 (20060101); H04N 1/00 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2008193588 |
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Aug 2008 |
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JP |
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2013-125147 |
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Jun 2013 |
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JP |
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2013125147 |
|
Jun 2013 |
|
JP |
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2014127867 |
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Jul 2014 |
|
JP |
|
Other References
Notice of Reasons for Refusal mailed by Japan Patent Office on Sep.
27, 2016 in the corresponding Japanese patent application No.
2014-232834. cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Tieu; Benny Q
Assistant Examiner: Sabah; Haris
Attorney, Agent or Firm: IP Business Solutions, LLC
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image reading section
operable to read an original document and generate image data from
the read original document; a storage section operable to store the
image data generated by the image reading section; a communication
section operable to communicate data with one or more external
digital signage devices; an acceptance section configured to accept
a delivery instruction to deliver the image data with the one or
more digital signage devices designated as destinations; and an
operation control section configured to control the operation of
reading the original document and generating the image data
performed by the image reading section, the operation of
communicating data performed by the communication section, and the
operation of storing the image data performed by the storage
section, wherein the storage section has a plurality of storage
regions at least one or more of which are signage-specific storage
regions associated one-to-one with the one or more digital signage
devices, each of the signage-specific storage regions stores the
image data generated by the image reading section having read the
original document, the operation control section is further
configured to: when the acceptance section accepts the delivery
instruction, allow the communication section to send the image data
stored in the signage-specific storage region associated with the
individual digital signage device designated in the delivery
instruction to the digital signage device designated in the
delivery instruction and allow the storage section to store the
delivery instruction as history information in the associated
signage-specific storage region and after the relevant digital
signage device has finished displaying the image data, allow the
storage section to store the image data as the history information
in the associated signage-specific storage region, and wherein if a
display time of the image data displayed on a relevant digital
signage device is equal to or shorter than a predetermined amount
of time, the operation control section reduces a resolution of the
image data and allows the storage section to store the
resolution-reduced image data as the history information in the
associated signage-specific storage region.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the
acceptance section is further configured to accept a setting of how
the image data is to be displayed on the relevant digital signage
device, and the operation control section is further configured to
allow setting data indicating the setting accepted by the
acceptance section to be stored in the associated signage-specific
storage region, allow the communication section to send not only
the image data but also the setting data to the relevant digital
signage device, and allow the storage section to store the setting
data as the history information in the associated signage-specific
storage region after the relevant digital signage device has
finished displaying the image data.
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the
acceptance section is further configured to accept at least one of
the setting of a display layout of the image data, the setting of a
display period of the image data, and the setting of a display
order of pieces of the image data as the setting of how the image
data is to be displayed on the relevant digital signage device.
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the
operation control section is further configured to analyze the
setting data stored in the associated signage-specific storage
region to determine whether or not the relevant digital signage
device has finished displaying the image data.
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the
acceptance section is further configured to accept an output
instruction to output the image data stored in the one or more
storage regions associated one-to-one with the one or more digital
signage devices, and the operation control section is further
configured to, when the acceptance section accepts the output
instruction, perform at least one of processing for allowing an
image forming section provided in the image forming apparatus to
form an image on a recording paper sheet based on the image data
indicated in the output instruction and processing for allowing the
communication section to send an e-mail to which the image data
indicated in the output instruction is attached.
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein if a
number of output times of the image data indicated by the output
instruction is equal to or smaller than a predetermined number of
output times, the operation control section reduces a resolution of
the image data and allows the storage section to store the
resolution-reduced image data as the history information in the
associated signage-specific storage region.
7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the
operation control section is further configured to allow the
storage section to store the history information in a history
information storage subregion provided in the associated
signage-specific storage region.
8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the
operation control section is further configured to allow the
communication section to send to a predetermined destination the
history information stored in the associated signage-specific
storage region.
9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the
acceptance section is further configured to accept a generation
instruction to generate a signage-specific storage region
associated with one of the one or more digital signage devices, and
the image forming apparatus further comprises a storage region
generating section configured to, when the acceptance section
accepts the generation instruction, generate the signage-specific
storage region associated with the digital signage device in the
storage section.
10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the
operation control section is further configured to allow a display
section of the image forming apparatus to display a preview image
indicating the image data to be displayed on the relevant digital
signage device based on the setting accepted by the acceptance
section.
11. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image reading section
operable to read an original document and generate image data from
the read original document; a storage section operable to store the
image data generated by the image reading section; a communication
section operable to communicate data with one or more external
digital signage devices; an acceptance section configured to accept
a delivery instruction to deliver the image data with the one or
more digital signage devices designated as destinations; and an
operation control section configured to control the operation of
reading the original document and generating the image data
performed by the image reading section, the operation of
communicating data performed by the communication section, and the
operation of storing the image data performed by the storage
section, wherein the storage section has a plurality of storage
regions at least one or more of which are signage-specific storage
regions associated one-to-one with the one or more digital signage
devices, each of the signage-specific storage regions stores the
image data generated by the image reading section having read the
original document, the operation control section is further
configured to, when the acceptance section accepts the delivery
instruction, allow the communication section to send the image data
stored in the signage-specific storage region associated with the
individual digital signage device designated in the delivery
instruction to the digital signage device designated in the
delivery instruction and allow the storage section to store the
delivery instruction as history information in the associated
signage-specific storage region, the communication section is
further configured to receive from a relevant digital signage
device a number of touch times indicating how many times a touch
panel provided in the digital signage device has been touched while
the digital signage device displays the image data, and if the
number of touch times received by the communication section is
equal to or smaller than a predetermined number of touch times, the
operation control section reduces a resolution of the image data
and allows the storage section to store the resolution-reduced
image data as the history information in the associated
signage-specific storage region.
12. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image reading section
operable to read an original document and generate image data from
the read original document; a storage section operable to store the
image data generated by the image reading section; a communication
section operable to communicate data with one or more external
digital signage devices; an acceptance section configured to accept
a delivery instruction to deliver the image data with the one or
more digital signage devices designated as destinations; and an
operation control section configured to control the operation of
reading the original document and generating the image data
performed by the image reading section, the operation of
communicating data performed by the communication section, and the
operation of storing the image data performed by the storage
section, wherein the storage section has a plurality of storage
regions at least one or more of which are signage-specific storage
regions associated one-to-one with the one or more digital signage
devices, each of the signage-specific storage regions stores the
image data generated by the image reading section having read the
original document, the operation control section is further
configured to, when the acceptance section accepts the delivery
instruction, allow the communication section to send the image data
stored in the signage-specific storage region associated with the
individual digital signage device designated in the delivery
instruction to the digital signage device designated in the
delivery instruction and allow the storage section to store the
delivery instruction as history information in the associated
signage-specific storage region, the communication section is
further operable to communicate data with an external information
processing apparatus and is configured to receive from the
information processing apparatus the delivery instruction and the
image data to be delivered based on the delivery instruction, and
the operation control section is further configured to, when the
communication section receives the delivery instruction, allow the
storage section to store the image data received by the
communication section in the signage-specific storage region
associated with the individual digital signage device designated in
the delivery instruction received by the communication section and
allow the communication section to send the image data stored in
the associated signage-specific storage region to the digital
signage device.
13. A computer-readable non-transitory recording medium with an
image forming apparatus control program recorded thereon, the image
forming apparatus control program allowing a computer to function
as: an operation control section configured to control an image
reading operation of an image reading section, a communication
operation of a communication section capable of communicating data
with one or more external digital signage devices, and a storage
operation of a storage section having a plurality of storage
regions at least one or more of which are signage-specific storage
regions associated one-to-one with the one or more digital signage
devices, each of the signage-specific storage regions storing image
data generated by the image reading section having read the
original document; and an acceptance section configured to accept a
delivery instruction to deliver the image data with the one or more
digital signage devices designated as destinations, wherein the
image forming apparatus control program further allows the computer
to function so that: when the acceptance section accepts the
delivery instruction, the operation control section allows the
communication section to send the image data stored in the
signage-specific storage region associated with the individual
digital signage device designated in the delivery instruction to
the digital signage device designated in the delivery instruction
and allows the storage section to store the delivery instruction as
history information in the associated signage-specific storage
region; after a relevant digital signage device has finished
displaying the image data, allow the storage section to store the
image data as the history information in the associated
signage-specific storage region; and if a display time of the image
data displayed on the relevant digital signage device is equal to
or shorter than a predetermined amount of time, the operation
control section reduces a resolution of the image data and allows
the storage section to store the resolution-reduced image data as
the history information in the associated signage-specific storage
region.
Description
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No.
2014-232834 filed on Nov. 17, 2014, the entire disclosure of which
is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
The present disclosure relates to image forming apparatuses and
computer-readable non-transitory recording media with an image
forming apparatus control program recorded thereon and particularly
relates to a technique for delivering image data to external
digital signage devices.
In recent years digital signage devices are becoming widespread as
means for giving notice to many people of information in public
facilities and so on. By generating and registering image data or
the like for information on a dedicated management server provided
externally of a digital signage device, an operator can change the
contents of an informing image to be displayed on the digital
signage device. Thus, as compared to conventional informing means,
such as a notice and a notice board (bulletin board), the digital
signage device can avoid the trouble of having to remake the
contents of information, which makes it easy to offer up-to-data
information.
SUMMARY
A technique improved over the aforementioned technique is proposed
as one aspect of the present disclosure.
An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present
disclosure includes an image reading section, a storage section, a
communication section, an acceptance section, and an operation
control section. The image reading section is operable to read an
original document and generate image data from the read original
document. The storage section is operable to store the image data
generated by the image reading section. The communication section
is operable to communicate data with one or more external digital
signage devices. The acceptance section is configured to accept a
delivery instruction to deliver the image data with the one or more
digital signage devices designated as destinations. The operation
control section is configured to control the operation of reading
the original document and generating the image data performed by
the image reading section, the operation of communicating data
performed by the communication section, and the operation of
storing the image data performed by the storage section.
The storage section has a plurality of storage regions at least one
or more of which are signage-specific storage regions associated
one-to-one with the one or more digital signage devices.
Each of the signage-specific storage regions stores the image data
generated by the image reading section having read the original
document.
The operation control section is further configured to, when the
acceptance section accepts the delivery instruction, allow the
communication section to send the image data stored in the
signage-specific storage region associated with the individual
digital signage device designated in the delivery instruction to
the digital signage device designated in the delivery instruction
and allow the storage section to store the delivery instruction as
history information in the associated signage-specific storage
region.
A computer-readable non-transitory recording medium according to
another aspect of the present disclosure contains an image forming
apparatus control program recorded thereon, the image forming
apparatus control program allowing a computer to function as the
above-described operation control section and the above-described
acceptance section.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a digital
signage system according to one embodiment of the present
disclosure.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the
digital signage system according to the one embodiment of the
present disclosure.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for delivering
image data in an image forming apparatus according to the one
embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a processing flow in the
digital signage system according to the one embodiment of the
present disclosure.
FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of a delivery instruction
acceptance screen displayed on a display section of the image
forming apparatus according to the one embodiment of the present
disclosure.
FIG. 6A is a view showing an example of a programming information
acceptance screen displayed on the display section of the image
forming apparatus according to the one embodiment of the present
disclosure.
FIG. 6B is a view showing an example of a layout acceptance screen
displayed on the display section.
FIG. 7A is a view showing an example of a display order acceptance
screen displayed on the display section of the image forming
apparatus according to the one embodiment of the present
disclosure.
FIG. 7B is a view showing an example of a display period acceptance
screen displayed on the display section.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for outputting
image data in the image forming apparatus according to the one
embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of an output instruction
acceptance screen displayed on the display section of the image
forming apparatus according to the one embodiment of the present
disclosure.
FIG. 10A is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for delivering
image data in an image forming apparatus according to Modification
1.
FIG. 10B is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for delivering
image data in an image forming apparatus according to Modification
1.
FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing a processing flow in a
digital signage system according to Modification 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Hereinafter, a description will be given of an image forming
apparatus and a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium
with an image forming apparatus control program recorded thereon,
both according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, with
reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a digital
signage system according to one embodiment of the present
disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal
configuration of the digital signage system according to the one
embodiment of the present disclosure.
The digital signage system 1 includes an image forming apparatus 10
and a plurality of digital signage devices 20A, 20B and 20C
connected via a LAN (local area network) or the like to the image
forming apparatus 10. The image forming apparatus 10 is configured
to send to the digital signage devices 20A, 20B and 20C image data
generated by an image reading section 110 having read an original
document, together with programming information (setting data)
indicating a setting of how the digital signage devices 20A, 20B
and 20C display the image data.
Note that the digital signage devices 20A, 20B and 20C have the
same configuration and, therefore, unless otherwise distinguished,
they and each of them are indicated at 20 from which "A", "B", and
"C" are omitted.
The image forming apparatus 10 is a multifunction peripheral having
multiple functions including, for example, a copy function, a print
function, a scan function, and a facsimile function. The image
forming apparatus 10 is roughly composed of an apparatus body 11,
the image reading section 110 disposed above the apparatus body 11,
and a connecting portion 12 provided between the image reading
section 110 and the apparatus body 11.
The apparatus body 11 is made up to include an image forming
section 120, a sheet feed section 13, and so on.
In an image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 10,
the image forming section 120 forms a toner image on a recording
paper sheet fed from the sheet feed section 13 based on image data
generated by the image reading section 110 having read an original
document placed on a document feeding tray 111 or other image data.
Thereafter, the toner image formed on the recording paper sheet is
heat fixed by an unshown fixing section. The recording paper sheet
having an image fixed thereon by the completion of the fixing is
discharged to a sheet output tray 14.
A display section 130 and an operating section 150 are disposed at
the front of a housing forming a shell of the image forming
apparatus 10. The display section 130 is formed to include a liquid
crystal display (LCD) or an organic light-emitting diode (OLED)
display.
A touch panel 140 is disposed in front of the display section 130.
The touch panel 140 is a touch panel of, for example, a so-called
resistive film system or a capacitance system and is configured to
detect a user's touch of the touch panel 140 together with the
point of touch. When detecting the user's touch, the touch panel
140 outputs a detection signal indicating a coordinate point of the
point of touch.
The operating section 150 is hard keys including, for example, a
menu key for calling up a menu, arrow keys for moving the focus of
a GUI forming the menu, a determination key for performing a
determination operation for the GUI forming the menu, and so
on.
A storage section 160 is a large storage device, such as an HDD
(hard disk drive), and is configured to store, for example, image
data generated by the image reading section 110.
A communication section 170 is a network interface composed of a
communication module, such as a LAN board.
The image forming apparatus 10 further includes a control unit 100.
The control unit 100 is composed of a CPU (central processing
unit), a RAM (random access memory), a ROM (read only memory), and
so on. When an image forming apparatus control program stored in
the above ROM or the storage section 160 is executed by the above
CPU, the control unit 100 functions as a control section 101, an
operation control section 102, an acceptance section 103, and a
storage region generating section 104. Alternatively, each of the
control section 101, the operation control section 102, the
acceptance section 103, and the storage region generating section
104 of the control unit 100 may not be implemented by the operation
of the control unit 100 in accordance with the image forming
apparatus control program but may be constituted by a hardware
circuit.
The control section 101 governs the overall control of the image
forming apparatus 10.
The operation control section 102 governs the operation control of
the image forming apparatus 10. The operation control section 102
is connected to the image reading section 110, the image forming
section 120, the display section 130, the storage section 160, the
communication section 170, and so on and performs the operation
control of the above components connected thereto. The details of
processing of the operation control section 102 will be described
hereinafter.
The acceptance section 103 has the function of accepting, based on
a detection signal output from the touch panel 140, a user's
gesture on the touch panel 140. Furthermore, the acceptance section
103 also has the function of accepting a user's operation using the
operating section 150, such as a hardware key.
The storage region generating section 104 has the function of, when
the acceptance section 103 accepts a generation instruction to
generate a storage region (signage-specific storage region)
associated with a digital signage device 20, generating in the
storage section 160 a signage-specific storage region associated
one-to-one with the digital signage device 20. When a new digital
signage device 20 is introduced, an operator can enter the above
generation instruction using the operating section 150 or so on to
generate in the storage section 160 a signage-specific storage
region associated one-to-one with the new digital signage device
20. Thus, the new digital signage device 20 is registered in the
image forming apparatus 10. As a result, it becomes possible for
the image forming apparatus 10 to generate and register image data
and so on for the new digital signage device 20 and it becomes
possible to use the image forming apparatus 10 to change the
contents of an informing image to be displayed on the new digital
signage device 20.
The storage section 160 has a plurality of storage regions and at
least one or more of them are associated one-to-one with digital
signage devices 20. In an example shown in FIG. 4, there are three
user boxes from 161A to 161C as signage-specific storage regions
and one user box 161D as a non-signage-specific storage region in
the storage section 160. The user box 161A is associated with the
digital signage device 20A, the user box 161B is associated with
the digital signage device 20B, and the user box 161C is associated
with the digital signage device 20C. In contrast, the user box 161D
is not associated with any digital signage device 20.
Furthermore, each signage-specific storage region is internally
provided with a history information storage subregion which is a
region for storing history information to be described hereinafter.
In the example shown in FIG. 4, history folders from 162A to 162C
are provided as history information storage subregions in the user
boxes from 161A to 161C, respectively. The history folder 162A is
associated with the digital signage device 20A, the history folder
162B is associated with the digital signage device 20B, and the
history folder 162C is associated with the digital signage device
20C.
Next, a description will be given of the structure and
configuration of each digital signage device 20. The digital
signage device 20 includes a control unit 200, a display section
210, a storage section 220, a communication section 230, and so on.
The display section 210 is formed of a liquid crystal display, an
organic light-emitting diode display or the like. The storage
section 220 is a large storage device, such as an HDD. The
communication section 230 is a network interface composed of a
communication module, such as a LAN board.
The control unit 200 is composed of a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and so on.
When a control program stored in the above ROM or the storage
section 220 is executed by the above CPU, the control unit 200
functions as a control section 201, a display control section 202,
and a communication control section 203. Alternatively, each of the
control section 201, the display control section 202, and the
communication control section 203 of the control unit 200 may not
be implemented by the operation of the control unit 200 in
accordance with the control program but may be constituted by a
hardware circuit.
The control section 201 governs the overall operation control of
the digital signage device 20.
The communication control section 203 has the function of
controlling the communication operation of the communication
section 230. Specifically, the communication control section 203
allows the communication section 230 to receive image data and
programming information sent from the image forming apparatus
10.
The display control section 202 has the function of controlling the
display operation of the display section 210. Specifically, the
display control section 202 analyzes programming information
received by the communication section 230 and, based on the
analysis result, allows the display section 210 to display image
data received by the communication section 230.
The above is the description of the configuration of the digital
signage system 1. Subsequently, a description will be given of
processing for delivering image data in the digital signage system
1 with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for delivering
image data in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the one
embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a diagram
schematically showing a processing flow in the digital signage
system 1 according to the one embodiment of the present
disclosure.
The operation control section 102 allows the display section 130 to
display a predetermined delivery instruction acceptance screen
(step S10). The acceptance section 103 determines, on the delivery
instruction acceptance screen, whether or not to have accepted a
delivery instruction (step S11).
FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of a delivery instruction
acceptance screen displayed on the display section 130. In an
example shown in FIG. 5, a list of digital signage devices 20
connected to the image forming apparatus 10 is displayed, together
with their locations of installation, on the delivery instruction
acceptance screen D1. Furthermore, a plurality of buttons from dl
to d3 are arranged on the delivery instruction acceptance screen
D1. An operator pushes any buttons from dl to d3 using the touch
panel 140 or the operating section 150 to enter a delivery
instruction to deliver image data. The acceptance section 103
accepts a delivery instruction designating as destinations the
respective digital signage devices 20 corresponding to the one or
more buttons pushed by the operator.
When the acceptance section 103 accepts the delivery instruction
(YES in step S11), the operation control section 102 allows the
image reading section 110 to read (scan) an original document
placed on the document feeding tray 111 (step S12). Then, the
operation control section 102 allows the storage section 160 to
store the image data generated by the image reading section 110
having read the original document in the one or more respective
signage-specific storage regions (user boxes) associated with the
one or more digital signage devices 20 designated in the delivery
instruction accepted by the acceptance section 103 (step S13). In
the case where a plurality of original documents are placed on the
document feeding tray 111, the image reading section 110
sequentially scans the plurality of original documents to generate
respective pieces of image data for the original documents.
After the storage section 160 stores the image data, the operation
control section 102 allows the display section 130 to display a
predetermined programming information acceptance screen (setting
screen) (step S14). The acceptance section 103 accepts a setting of
programming information based on a user's operation entered on the
predetermined programming information acceptance screen (setting
screen) (step S15).
FIG. 6A is a view showing an example of a programming information
acceptance screen displayed on the display section 130. In an
example shown in FIG. 6A, a plurality of buttons from d4 to d6 are
arranged on the programming information acceptance screen D2.
When the button d4 is pushed by the operator, the acceptance
section 103 accepts a setting of the display layout of image data
as a setting of programming information. The setting of the display
layout of image data herein refers to a setting indicating where
image data is to be displayed on the display section 210 of the
relevant digital signage device 20.
FIG. 6B is a view showing an example of a display layout acceptance
screen displayed on the display section 130. In an example shown in
FIG. 6B, a display layout pattern acceptance screen d7 and an image
data setting screen d8 are shown on the display layout acceptance
screen D3. Three display layouts are presented as display layout
patterns for a display region of the display section 210 on the
display layout pattern acceptance screen d7. The three display
layouts include: a display layout where the display region is not
divided (left); a display layout where the display region is
divided into two subregions (middle); and a display layout where
the display region is divided into four subregions (right). The
acceptance section 103 accepts, based on a user's operation entered
using the touch panel 140 or the operating section 150, one of the
three display layouts presented on the display layout pattern
acceptance screen d7 as the display layout pattern for the display
region of the display section 210. Furthermore, one or more pieces
of image data capable of being displayed on the entire display
region or each display subregion of the display section 210 are
indicated on the image data setting screen d8. The acceptance
section 103 accepts, based on a user's operation entered using the
touch panel 140 or the operating section 150, the designation of a
piece of image data to be displayed on the entire display region or
each display subregion of the display section 210 from among all of
one or more pieces of image data stored in the associated
signage-specific storage region of the storage section 160.
Referring back to FIG. 6A, when the button d6 is pushed by the
operator, the acceptance section 103 accepts a setting of the
display order of pieces of image data as a setting of programming
information. The setting of the display order of pieces of image
data herein refers to a setting indicating in which order pieces of
image data are to be displayed on the display section 210 of the
relevant digital signage device 20.
FIG. 7A is a view showing an example of a display order acceptance
screen displayed on the display section 130. In an example shown in
FIG. 7A, an image data acceptance screen d9 and a display interval
acceptance screen d10 are shown on the display order acceptance
screen D4. Pieces of image data capable of being displayed at each
position of the display order are indicated on the image data
acceptance screen d9. The acceptance section 103 accepts, based on
a user's operation entered using the touch panel 140 or the
operating section 150, the designation of a piece of image data to
be displayed at each position of the display order from among the
pieces of image data stored in the associated signage-specific
storage region of the storage section 160. Furthermore, various
options of the time interval at which the display of image data on
the relevant digital signage device 20 can be switched are
presented on the display interval acceptance screen d10. The
acceptance section 103 accepts the designation of a time interval
based on a user's operation entered using the touch panel 140 or
the operating section 150.
Referring back to FIG. 6A, when the button d5 is pushed by the
operator, the acceptance section 103 accepts a setting of the
display period of image data as a setting of programming
information. The setting of the display period of image data herein
refers to a setting indicating how long the image data is to be
displayed on the relevant digital signage device 20.
FIG. 7B is a view showing an example of a display period acceptance
screen displayed on the display section 130. In an example shown in
FIG. 7B, a start time indication field d11 indicating the start
time of display of image data and a finish time indication field
d12 indicating the finish time of display of image data are shown
on the display period acceptance screen D5. The acceptance section
103 accepts the designations of a start time of display of image
data and a finish time of display of image data, each based on a
user's operation entered using the touch panel 140 or the operating
section 150.
In the above manners, when the acceptance section 103 accepts at
least one of the setting of the layout of image data, the setting
of the display order of pieces of image data, and the setting of
the display period of image data as a setting of programming
information, the operation control section 102 generates
programming information based on the accepted setting (step
S16).
Then, the operation control section 102 allows the storage section
160 to store the programming information generated in the
processing at step S16 in the respective signage-specific storage
regions associated with the one or more digital signage devices 20
designated in the delivery instruction accepted by the acceptance
section 103 (step S17). Thus, the one or more signage-specific
storage regions of the storage section 160 store image data to be
displayed by the one or more respective digital signage devices 20
and programming information indicating a setting of how the one or
more digital signage devices 20 display the image data.
The operation control section 102 allows the display section 130 to
display, based on the image data and programming information stored
in each signage-specific storage region of the storage section 160,
a preview image indicating a display screen to be displayed on the
relevant digital signage device 20 (step S18).
Thereafter, when the acceptance section 103 accepts an instruction
to execute delivery (YES in step S19), the operation control
section 102 allows the communication section 170 to deliver the
image data by sending the image data and the programming
information both stored in the signage-specific storage region to
the relevant digital signage device 20 (step S20).
After the delivery of the image data, the operation control section
102 allows the storage section 160 to store the delivery
instruction, which has been accepted by the acceptance section 103
in the processing at step S11, in the respective history
information storage subregions of the signage-specific storage
regions associated with the one or more digital signage devices 20
designated in the delivery instruction (step S21). In other words,
in the processing at step S21, the operation control section 102
allows the storage region 160 to store the delivery instruction as
history information. The delivery instruction stored as history
information by the storage section 160 contains various
information, including the file name of the image data to be
delivered, the names of the one or more relevant digital signage
devices 20 as destinations for delivery, the delivery time, and the
person who entered the delivery instruction.
After the processing at step S21, the operation control section 102
analyzes the programming information stored in each relevant
signage-specific storage region to determine whether or not the
relevant digital signage device 20 has finished displaying the
image data (step S22).
If the relevant digital signage device 20 has finished displaying
the image data (YES in step S22), the operation control section 102
allows the image data and the programming information, which have
been stored in the associated signage-specific storage region in
the processing at step S13 and the processing at step S17,
respectively, to be moved (stored) into the history information
storage subregion (history folder) of the associated
signage-specific storage region (step S23). In other words, in the
processing at step S23, the operation control section 102 allows
the storage region 160 to store as history information both the
image data and the programming information.
In the processing at step S13 and the processing at step S17, the
operation control section 102 may allow the image data and the
programming information, respectively, to be stored in a dedicated
storage subregion (for example, an in-display folder) provided in
each relevant signage-specific storage region. In this case, in the
processing at step S23, the operation control section 102 allows
the image data and the programming information to be moved from the
in-display folder to the history folder in the same
signage-specific storage region.
After the processing at step S23, the operation control section 102
allows the communication section 170 to send to the administrator
the history information stored in the history information storage
subregion in the processing at step S21 and the processing at step
S23 (step S24). The storage section 160 previously stores the
e-mail address of the administrator. The communication section 170
sends an e-mail containing the history information to the address
stored in the storage section 160. The processing at step S24 may
be executed just after the processing at step S21.
A general digital signage system requires a dedicated management
server separately from digital signage devices. The generation and
delivery operation of image data and so on on the dedicated
management server are often complicated. Furthermore, also in
checking the delivery history of image data, a specific operation
is required on the dedicated management server. Future digital
signage devices can be considered to be introduced not only into
large facilities, such as station yards, but also into relatively
small facilities, such as schools. However, it is difficult to
install a dedicated management server in small facilities. In
addition, because in small facilities it is difficult to put a
dedicated staff for managing a digital signage device, the method
for operating the digital signage device should preferably be
simple.
To cope with the above problems, the image forming apparatus 10
according to the one embodiment of the present disclosure includes
signage-specific storage regions associated one-to-one with digital
signage devices 20 and can register image data to be displayed on
each digital signage device 20 by allowing the associated
signage-specific storage region to store image data generated by
the image reading section 110 having read an original document. The
operator can register image data to be displayed on each digital
signage device 20 with a simple operation, as before, of
designating a destination for storage of the image data and
scanning an original document.
Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 10 according to the one
embodiment of the present disclosure can set, with a simple
operation on the image forming apparatus 10, not only image data
but also programming information indicating a setting of how the
image data is to be displayed on the relevant digital signage
device 20. In addition, in the image forming apparatus 10 according
to the one embodiment of the present disclosure, a set of image
data and programming information is stored in each of
signage-specific storage regions associated one-to-one with the
digital signage devices 20. Therefore, the operator can easily
confirm or change the contents of the image data and programming
information later.
In the image forming apparatus 10 according to the one embodiment
of the present disclosure, deliver instructions to deliver image
data are stored (accumulated) as history information in each
signage-specific storage region. Therefore, the operator can easily
check the history of the delivery instructions later. Furthermore,
in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the one embodiment
of the present disclosure, a set of image data and programming
information is stored (accumulated) as history information in each
relevant signage-specific storage region every time the associated
digital signage device 20 has finished displaying the image data.
Therefore, the operator can easily check the previously delivered
image data and programming information later.
In the image forming apparatus 10 according to the one embodiment
of the present disclosure, the signage-specific storage regions
associated one-to-one with digital signage devices 20 are
internally provided with their respective dedicated storage
subregions (history information storage subregions) for storing
history information. Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus 10
according to the one embodiment of the present disclosure, a set of
image data and programming information stored in each
signage-specific storage region is moved to the history information
storage subregion of the same signage-specific storage region after
the associated digital signage device 20 has finished displaying
the image data. Therefore, the operator can easily determine
whether or not a desired digital signage device 20 is presently
displaying image data by checking the signage-specific storage
region associated one-to-one with the desired digital signage
device 20.
In the image forming apparatus 10 according to the one embodiment
of the present disclosure, the administrator for the digital
signage system 1 can be notified of history information, such as a
delivery instruction. This makes it easy for the administrator to
manage the digital signage system 1.
Next, a description will be given of processing for outputting
image data in the digital signage system 1 with reference to FIGS.
8 and 4.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for outputting
image data in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the one
embodiment of the present disclosure.
The operation control section 102 allows the display section 130 to
display a predetermined output instruction acceptance screen (step
S40). The acceptance section 103 accepts an output instruction on
the output instruction acceptance screen (step S41, S43 or
S45).
FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of an output instruction
acceptance screen displayed on the display section 130. In an
example shown in FIG. 9, an output source acceptance screen d13 for
accepting the designation of a digital signage device serving as a
source of data output and an output method acceptance screen d14
for accepting the designation of a method for outputting data are
shown on the output instruction acceptance screen D6. The output
source acceptance screen d13 shows a list of digital signage
devices 20 connected to the image forming apparatus 10. The
operator can select, for each digital signage device 20, which of
in-display image data or previously displayed image data is to be
output. The acceptance section 103 accepts the designation of one
digital signage device 20 as a source of data output from among the
list of digital signage devices 20. Furthermore, the output method
acceptance screen d14 shows three output methods including print
output, mail output, and display output. The acceptance section 103
accepts the designation of one output method from among the three
output methods.
In the example shown in FIG. 9, an output instruction to print out
image data previously displayed on the digital signage device B is
entered. In this case, image data stored in the history folder 162B
of the user box 161B is data to be output (see FIG. 4).
When the acceptance section 103 accepts an output instruction to
form an image (YES in step S41), the operation control section 102
allows the image forming section 120 to form an image on a
recording paper sheet based on image data stored in the
signage-specific storage region associated with the digital signage
device 20 designated in the output instruction (step S42). The
operation control section 102 may allow the image forming section
120 to form programming information stored in the same
signage-specific storage region, together with the image data, on
the recording paper sheet.
When the acceptance section 103 accepts an output instruction to
send an e-mail (YES in step S43), the operation control section 102
allows the communication section 170 to send an e-mail to which
image data stored in the signage-specific storage region associated
with the digital signage device 20 designated in the output
instruction is attached (step S44). The storage section 160
previously stores the address of the e-mail. The communication
section 170 sends the e-mail to the address stored in the storage
section 160. The operation control section 102 may allow the
communication section 170 to attach programming information stored
in the same signage-specific storage region, together with the
image data, to the e-mail. Alternatively, when a user enters an
e-mail address using the touch panel 140 or the operating section
150 and the acceptance section 103 accepts the e-mail address as a
destination, the operation control section 102 may allow the
communication section 170 to send the e-mail.
When the acceptance section 103 accepts an output instruction to
display data (YES in step S45), the operation control section 102
allows the display section 130 to display image data stored in the
signage-specific storage region associated with the digital signage
device 20 designated in the output instruction (step S46). The
operation control section 102 may allow the display section 130 to
display programming information stored in the same signage-specific
storage region, together with the image data.
After the processing for outputting the image data, the operation
control section 102 allows the output instruction accepted in the
processing at step S41, S43 or S45 to be stored in the history
information storage subregion of the signage-specific storage
region associated with the relevant digital signage device 20 (step
S47). In other words, in the processing at step S47, the operation
control section 102 allows the storage region 160 to store the
output instruction as history information. The output instruction
stored as history information by the storage section 160 contains
various information, including the file name of the image data to
be output, the name of the relevant digital signage device 20, the
output time, and the person who entered the output instruction.
As thus far described, the image forming apparatus 10 according to
the one embodiment of the present disclosure stores image data and
programming information in each of the signage-specific storage
regions associated one-to-one with digital signage devices 20 and
can output them using the image forming function, the communication
function, the display function, or so on with which the image
forming apparatus 10 is equipped. Therefore, in the image forming
apparatus 10 according to the one embodiment of the present
disclosure, information presented on each digital signage device 20
can be output with a simple operation in various output
methods.
In the image forming apparatus 10 according to the one embodiment
of the present disclosure, output instructions to output image data
are stored (accumulated) as history information in each
signage-specific storage region. Therefore, the operator can easily
check the history of the output instructions later.
The present disclosure is not limited to the configuration of the
above embodiment and can be modified in various ways.
<Modification 1>
FIGS. 10A and 10B are flowcharts showing a flow of processing for
delivering image data in an image forming apparatus 10 according to
Modification 1. The same pieces of processing as those shown in the
flowchart of FIG. 3 are designated by the same references and
further explanation thereof will be omitted.
After the relevant digital signage device 20 has finished
displaying the image data (YES in step S22), the operation control
section 102 analyzes the history information stored in the
associated history information storage subregion to acquire the
number of output times of the image data (step S51).
If the number of output times of the image data is equal to or
smaller than a predetermined number of output times (YES in step
S51), the operation control section 102 reduces the resolution of
the image data (step S52) and allows the storage section 160 to
store the resolution-reduced image data as history information in
the associated history information storage subregion (step
S54).
Furthermore, the operation control section 102 analyzes the
programming information stored in the associated signage-specific
storage region to acquire the display time of the image data, i.e.,
how long the image data has ever been displayed in total on the
relevant digital signage device 20 (step S53).
If the display time of the image data is equal to or shorter than a
predetermined amount of time (YES in step S53), the operation
control section 102 reduces the resolution of the image data (step
S52) and allows the storage section 160 to store a set of the
resolution-reduced image data and the program information as
history information in the associated history information storage
subregion (step S54).
On the other hand, if the number of output times of the image data
is greater than the predetermined number of output times (NO in
step S51) and the display time of the image data is longer than the
predetermined amount of time (NO in step S53), the operation
control section 102 does not reduce the resolution of the image
data and allows the storage section 160 to store a set of the image
data and the program information as history information in the
associated history information storage subregion (step S54).
As seen from the above, in the image forming apparatus 10 according
to Modification 1, the degree of users' recognition of image data
(display recognizability) indicating how much the image data is
recognized by users can be determined based on information, such as
the display time of the image data displayed on the digital signage
device 20 or the number of output times of the image data output
from the digital signage device 20. Furthermore, in the image
forming apparatus 10 according to Modification 1, image data having
a display recognizability lower than a predetermined degree is
reduced in resolution and stored as resolution-reduced image data
in the history information storage subregion, resulting in a
reduced size of history information. Thus, it can be avoided that
image data having a low display recognizability strains the storage
capacity of the storage section 160.
Although the above description has been given of the case where the
operation control section 102 determines the display
recognizability based on the display time of image data displayed
on a digital signage device 20 or the number of output times of
image data output from the digital signage device 20, the present
disclosure is not necessarily limited to this case.
For example, when the digital signage device 20 sends to the image
forming apparatus 10 information on how many times users have
touched a touch panel provided in the display section 210 of the
digital signage device 20, the operation control section 102 may
determine the display recognizability of image data using the
information.
Specifically, the digital signage device 20 sends the number of
touch times indicating how many times users have touched the touch
panel of the display section 210 during the display of the image
data. When under the control of the operation control section 102
the communication section 170 receives the number of touch times,
the operation control section 102 determines whether or not the
number of touch times is equal to or smaller than a predetermined
number of touch times. If the number of touch times is equal to or
smaller than the predetermined number of touch times, the operation
control section 102 reduces the resolution of the image data and
allows the storage section 160 to store the resolution-reduced
image data as history information in the relevant signage-specific
storage region.
Alternatively, the operation control section 102 may determine the
display recognizability of image data using other types of
information, such as the traffic at the location where the digital
signage device 20 is installed.
<Modification 2>
FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing a processing flow in a
digital signage system 1 according to Modification 2. Further
explanation of the same elements as those shown in FIG. 4 will be
omitted.
An image forming apparatus 10 according to Modification 2 includes
a connection terminal capable of connecting a USB memory 40 which
is a portable storage medium. Furthermore, the image forming
apparatus 10 according to Modification 2 is configured to deliver
image data and programming information stored in each
signage-specific storage region of the storage section 160 not only
by sending them via a LAN to the relevant digital signage device 20
but alternatively by outputting them to the USB memory 40 which is
a portable storage medium.
When a digital signage device 20 designated in an instruction to
execute delivery is not connected to a LAN or the like, the image
forming apparatus 10 cannot deliver image data and programming
information to the digital signage device 20. In this case, the
operation control section 102 allows the USB memory 40 to store the
image data and the programming information. Specifically, when the
acceptance section 103 accepts the instruction to execute delivery,
the operation control section 102 determines whether or not data
communication with each digital signage device 20 designated in the
instruction to execute delivery is possible. If the image forming
apparatus 10 is unable to communicate data with the digital signage
device 20 designated in the instruction to execute delivery, the
operation control section 102 allows the image forming apparatus 10
to output to the USB memory 40 the image data and the programming
information stored in the signage-specific storage region
associated with the digital signage device 20 designated in the
instruction to execute delivery. Then, the operator connects the
USB memory 40 to a USB terminal of the digital signage device 20.
When detecting that the USB memory 40 has been connected to the USB
terminal, the control section 201 of the digital signage device 20
allows the storage section 220 to record the image data and the
programming information stored in the USB memory 40. In this
manner, the operator can generate and register image data and
programming information on the image forming apparatus 10, even for
digital signage devices 20 not connected via a LAN to the image
forming apparatus 10.
Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus 10 according to
Modification 2, the communication section 170 is operable to
communicate data with external information processing apparatuses
30, such as a mobile terminal 30A and a PC (personal computer) 30B.
In each information processing apparatus 30, image data to be
displayed on the one or more digital signage devices 20 and a
delivery instruction to deliver the image data are generated. The
communication section 170 receives, under the control of the
operation control section 102, the image data and the delivery
instruction generated by the information processing apparatus 30.
The operation control section 102 generates programming information
based on the delivery instruction received by the communication
section 170. Then, the operation control section 102 allows the
storage section 160 to store the generated programming information,
together with the image data, in the one or more respective
signage-specific storage regions associated with the one or more
digital signage devices 20 designated in the delivery instruction.
Thus, the image data generated in the information processing
apparatus 30 provided externally of the image forming apparatus 10
can be delivered to the one or more digital signage devices 20.
<Other Modifications>
The image forming apparatus control program described in the above
embodiment and modifications may be one stored on a
computer-readable non-transitory recording medium, such as a hard
disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM or a semiconductor memory.
Some of the configurations shown in the above embodiment and
modifications may be combined.
Various modifications and alterations of this disclosure will be
apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the
scope and spirit of this disclosure, and it should be understood
that this disclosure is not limited to the illustrative embodiments
set forth herein.
* * * * *